End of an Era for GSK and Exelixis

GlaxoSmithKline in October decided to decline its option to license Exelixis's late-stage XL184 small molecule oncology candidate and four earlier-stage compounds, effectively ending the six-year R&D collaboration between the two firms. The decision ends an early foray into license-and-option agreements by GSK, a company that has been at the forefront of striking option deals over the past several years. Its latest such agreement was announced the same day the Exelixis deal wrapped, as part of an alliance with the Austrian vaccines play Affiris in the area of Alzheimer's disease.